Ahh summer. I love this time of year because the garden is overflowing with scrumptious vegetables to sink my teeth into. We always enjoy an over-abundance of tomatoes from July through September thanks to our CSA share from Shepherd’s Valley Farm.
When I was in high school, one of my best friends was from a large Mexican family. I loved going over to their house and learning how to cook from her mom and grandma. I have forgotten much of it, but their “granny’s” salsa recipe has always stuck with me. It was fresh and didn’t require cooking because it was gone before they had a chance to can it. The minute she poured it into the bowl, the boys descended like a pack of wild dogs. We had to fight for our portion.
The last couple of weeks Shepherd’s Valley has provided nearly everything needed to make granny’s homemade salsa including jalapeño peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes. All I have to add is salt, lime juice and cilantro.
Cut the tomatoes and onion into quarters. No need for a fine chop. The food processor does all of the work for you.
My food processor does most of the work for me. I just do a rough chop on all of it, throw it in the bowl, and watch it whirl. My mouth is already watering.
The whole process takes less than 10 minutes – just a little longer than it would take you to open a jar of the over-processed stuff. Plus, it doesn’t include preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. You can’t beat that.
Recipe
- 4-5 large tomatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded (or leave them in if you like hot salsa)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- juice of one lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional – I don’t add sugar but some prefer it)
As shown above, rough chop everything and put it into the bowl of the food processor with the chopper blade. Chop on low for about 45 seconds or until it reaches your desired consistency. Take a quick taste and determine if you would like more salt. If it is too hot, use the teaspoon of sugar and throw in an extra tomato.
Serve room temperature or chilled depending on your preference. All of the portions above are estimates. I suggest experimenting and finding the combination that you and your family like the best!
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